Fayette council not yet ready to choose new administrator 2012.06.27

Fayette village council members are taking a step backward in their effort to hire a new administrator.

Fifteen people applied for the position and a hiring committee narrowed the field to three finalists.

But when council met June 13 for the committee-of-the-whole session, councilors emerged from a 15-minute closed meeting to announce that the hiring committee would take a look at all of the applicants again.

“It's a very important decision for the well-being of Fayette,” council president Dave Borer explained later. “The committee wants to be especially confident of their choice. The citizens of Fayette deserve the best.”

Village maintenance supervisor Tom Clemenson was hired in late October to serve as the interim administrator until the permanent position is filled.

VACUUM—Clemensen will investigate renting a vacuum truck to clean gravel from the sewer line that leads from the lift station to the north lagoon.

He said there is a lot of gravel in the line due to the combined sewer system that mixes septic sewage with storm water. The gravel makes the pumps work harder than necessary and impedes the flow of waste.

The pumps are capable of handling between 300 and 400 gallons a minute but currently pump around 230 gallons.

“It’s not an emergency,” Clemensen said, “but it needs to be taken care of.”

Rather than hire a firm to do the work, a vacuum truck could be rented from Cam Tech for about $4,500 a day and village workers could handle the task.

SEWER—Council discussed a $12,000 bill from Taylor Excavating to pay for connecting three residences to the village sewer and water systems. The work was done in anticipation of the sewer separation project.

The cost was higher than expected, but Clemenson said the job required more work than expected and he said the cost was justified.

TUITION—Village financial officer Lisa Zuver asked council for a policy on tuition reimbursement for employees. Council has paid for classes in the past, but no policy exists.

Specifically, she wondered what action should be taken if someone takes a test but doesn’t pass it. In that case, she said, some municipalities don’t pay.

STUMPS—Clemenson’s report noted that 29 stumps have been removed and an additional seven have yet to be done.

POTHOLES—Larger potholes will be filled with Dura Patch, but holes on some secondary streets will only be filled with gravel because they will be torn up during the sewer project.

BRUSH—Now that village workers have caught up on brush collecting and chipping, Clemenson said he would like to return to a regular brush collection schedule. He suggested the first and fourth week of the month. A notice will be sent with the next water bill to inform residents.

POOL—Stone was dumped in the “baby pool” at the park. The small pool was never filled in following the demolition of the main swimming pool, Clemenson said, and one front wheel of a vehicle went over the edge recently when parking for a ball game. He will speak with the park about the possibility of erecting parking barriers in the old pool area.